Monster

Isaac

///This episode is written from the point of view of the Alpha of the Yukon pack, Isaac.///

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Dawn would soon be on the horizon and sleep eluded me. Arlen, my mate, was sleeping peacefully beside me. Her breath was gently caressing me and trying to lure me into Morpheus' arms, but the ghosts that haunted me were powerful and made me resist her silent call. It had been two days since we returned from Montana. It had been a very curious visit and what we learned was particularly disturbing. I tried to sort out my thoughts as the minutes passed.

My time there had left me with a bittersweet taste, as every good news was followed by a bad news. Moreover, this pack was really destabilizing, so far from the life in our own. A dark aura hung over their village, and violence was considered a cult. Everyone I met seemed alert and wary, but also ready to fight and die at the snap of a finger. This atmosphere seemed to come from the top of the hierarchy and more precisely from the Luna, Ivana, who although objectively beautiful, gave me goosebumps. Everything about her oozed malice and vice. And what about her Alpha who was just a toy in her fingers? Many Alphas in North America knew about the disappearance of his first mate, the one chosen for him by the goddess, and they also knew that the red-haired woman was not a second chance, but a poor substitute. It was a rare thing for an Alpha to survive the death of his mate since the bond is so deep, it showed just what a powerful wolf Gareth once was. Now he was a shadow of his former self. At this thought I held Arlen a little tighter and buried my face in her hair to inhale her sweet smell. I couldn't even imagine the pain of such a loss. I would lose my mind, that was for sure. Sensing my confusion, my companion snuggled a little closer to me, her small reassuring hand resting on my heart. My stomach knotted at the thought of losing her relaxed and I breathed a relieved sigh. I shouldn't let myself think such thoughts, she was here, safe.

Turning my thoughts back to the Montana pack, I continued my thinking. At least the quest for the bear grass had been successful and we had been able to save the wolf that had been attacked. Our doctors were now looking for a way to grow the plant in our climate so that we would always have a supply available. Our pack would soon no longer be at the mercy of those filthy rogues and their poison. However, the search for the plant was not the only reason for this expedition. Years before, I had done an unforgivable mistake and lost one of the most precious things to me. Desperate to find it, rumors led me to Montana. Alas, I had come up empty, but instead I had made a highly intriguing encounter. A she-wolf with silver eyes and a coat as black as a moonless night, features I had only seen in my lineage. The more we got to know her, the more intrigued I became about her origins.

Duncan had told us what he had seen in the arena the night I sent him to scout. I was disgusted to learn what role she must have played in all this, especially since my Omega was sure she was suffering from it terribly. Of course, I had heard the stories from other packs that had been in conflict with Gareth and Ivana's pack. They all said the same thing. Among their ranks stood a bloodthirsty and brutal monster that no one seemed to be able to defeat. All the warriors who had witnessed the slaughters perpetrated by this merciless creature had been deeply marked by it. It was as if the gates of the hell that humans feared so much had opened in front of them to let out this nightmare vision: Fury. Having met her, I wondered how this was possible, for though she was ferocious, I didn't imagine she deserved such a description. Duncan, however, had given me a clue. When he'd seen her fight, even if it was just for a moment, he'd felt he was watching a machine fight, not a wolf . She had been conditioned to kill without restraint or showing the slightest bit of pity. But as soon as she came out of her trance, reality seemed to catch up with her, although she did her best not to show her emotions. Moreover, her habit of walking around almost constantly in her wolf form was deeply confusing. She seemed to do everything to limit contact with us or with members of her pack. It wasn't natural for a wolf to be so secluded when she was part of a pack.

I had not seen her once in our entire stay in her human form before the incident occurred. Again, a blessing and a curse. When I had caught them in the hallway, all my concern was obviously for my Omega, pinned against the wall like a mere butterfly. But when I called out to them, I saw her. I really saw her for the first time. Bruised and bloody, broken and humiliated. What horrors was she suffering in that pack? For how long? Her familiar silver eyes met mine and a doubt that had haunted me since I met the she-wolf grew stronger. Could it be... It was too early to know, and making unfounded assumptions would be useless. After she left, I rushed to Duncan, who, while catching his breath, told me that she was his mate, his destiny, and that if I hadn't interrupted them, she probably would have rejected him. My wolf shivered with horror. Nahele, however, was not the kind of person to be moved so easily. From this event a certainty was born: I had to get her attention, to talk to her in order to clear up the whole story. That night, I decided to write her a letter. A letter confessing the biggest mistake I had ever made in my life. The words went on and on, without me hiding behind any pretense, and I told her everything. I really hoped I was right, because these were my best kept secrets and regrets. So it was with sadness, hope and anxiety that I wrote to her.

If she read this letter, everything would change. If she read this letter, perhaps I would be forgiven?

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